Loving You
by DiamondHeart10
Summary: Calleigh couldn't remember the last time a case had left her feeling quite this empty. The difference this time though, was that she had someone to talk to. Set anytime between season 7-8


The night was falling upon Miami, darkness settling over the city. The day had been long, hard, and Calleigh couldn't remember the last time a case had left her feeling quite this empty. A child was dead, and his father was found guilty. They had revealed that the child, a little boy, had been abused. The dad claimed it was an accident, but Calleigh wasn't so sure. At least they had managed to convict him. He was going to rot in prison for the rest of his life.

Calleigh sighed, curling her legs under her body on the couch. She sipped her glass of red wine slowly, not managing to empty her head of thoughts. Thoughts of the little boy. She couldn't wrap her head around it. She knew they had done their job, providing the family with the truth, and convicted a killer, yet she couldn't let it pass. She shivered, goose bumps showing on her bare arms as she sipped her glass.

She heard a key in the door, and snapped out of her thoughts. Eric. He was home, finally. She glanced at the clock under the television, noting the time had just passed eight. He'd had to stay to wrap up another case, much to her dismay. "Hey babe". She heard him call from the hall. She smiled. On a day like today, his voice was enough to calm her just a little.

"Hey" She called out. "I left some food for you on the counter." She supplied casually. Imagining how hungry he was after a long day, she'd cooked him some dinner. She hadn't been able to eat much, but Eric always seemed to have an appetite. She heard him thank her, and soon she realized that hearing his voice wasn't enough. He would be with her on the couch in a moment, but she decided to get up anyway. She set her glass of wine on the table in front of her and padded to the kitchen. He was grabbing a plate from the cupboard, his back towards her when she appeared. Slowly she made her way over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind, resting her face against his back.

She relaxed into him. Smelling him, feeling him enough to calm her slowly. "How did it go?" She asked him, tightening her arms a little harder around him. Eric put his hands on hers, smiling. He loved coming home to her.

"Good, all finished." He said. Slowly he turned around, wanting to see her. One arm went around her shoulders, still holding her close to him. "How are you?" he asked, placing a kiss in her hair. He couldn't quite reach her eyes.

Calleigh looked down to the floor for a moment before she looked up at him. "I'm okay." She said. "Just tired, it's been a long day." She pressed a kiss to his chest before she unwrapped from his arms. She heard him agree. She went to help him get his dinner ready. Eric took the opportunity to take a bottle of water from the fridge. Calleigh took his plate of food, and walked out to the living room. She placed the plate on the table, as she sat back down on the couch. Eric was with her a moment later.

"You ate already?" He asked her casually, digging into his food. The faster he finished the sooner he'd get to talk to her. He understood that today had been really hard on Calleigh. He'd seen it the minute he'd found her in the lab, processing the evidence. Of course, she was utterly professional, not letting anyone see how much it bothered her. He did though. He always did know when something was bothering her.

Calleigh lifted the glass of wine to her lips. "Yeah." She answered. "I wasn't very hungry though." She watched as Eric ate, her lips curving in to a smile. He was always hungry. And he enjoyed her food.

"You should eat some more." He started. "This is really good," complementing the pasta she'd thrown together. He finished his food, while watching the news. A short sequence about their case today appeared and Eric could see the twitch in Calleigh's eyes as the reporter talked about what happened. Before the news report ended, Calleigh had switched off the television.

Eric pushed his plate away, thanking her for the food. When she didn't answer, he moved towards her, pulling her body into his. "Cal." He murmured in her hair, "Talk to me?" He pulled back to look at her.

Calleigh shrugged, leaning her head back on his shoulder, not wanting him to see just how affected she was. "You know cases with kids are always hard, Eric." She started slowly. "I just can't stop thinking." She felt his arms squeeze around her lightly, encouraging her to keep talking. "He was – he was such an adorable kid, Eric." She sighed. "And now he's gone, his whole life was taken away from him." She closed her eyes. "Just because his dad couldn't stop drinking." She whispered.

Eric knew Calleigh had a hard time with cases that involved accidents caused by alcohol. He was familiar with Calleigh's dad, and he knew immediately that it was why she was so upset today. She never talked about it though, and he wasn't going to push her. "I know, Cal." He whispered, running his hand down her back, comforting her the way he knew he could. "I can't believe it either." He said. "His dad's problem ended up taking his life. There's absolutely nothing worse than that." Eric couldn't wrap his head around it either, he couldn't _wait_ to be a father himself, and it hurt him so much that some people weren't willing to change or get help for their own children.

When Calleigh didn't answer, he decided to take a chance with her. He figured she'd either push him away, or finally open up to him. "Did it make you think about your dad?" He squeezed her arm reassuringly, not saying with words that he wanted her to open up a little to him.

If the question surprised Calleigh she didn't show it. After a moment, she nodded slowly. "Yeah." She murmured quietly. "It's stupid, I know…I just," she took a deep breath before she continued, "I just – I just know how scared he must have been." He heard her sniffle softly. "And he was just a little kid." She whispered.

"Calleigh," he interrupted. "It's not stupid." He continued slowly. "You've seen first-hand what drinking can do to a person." He kissed her hair. "You're allowed to feel you know."

Calleigh slowly turned her head to look up at him. Her eyes were still shining, tears were threating to fall after the long, emotional day, but she still fought against them. She didn't say anything, she just looked at him, contemplating her words carefully. She still wasn't completely used to Eric being there for her like he was as of lately. He still hadn't really seen her emotionally raw, and open. Her walls were slowly but surely coming down for him though. And what scared her now, was that after almost four months together, she didn't mind. She wanted Eric to push her, she wanted to open up to him.

"I know." She whispered slowly, eyes not leaving his. "I'm just not used to doing it in front of anyone." She said honestly. After all the years of knowing Calleigh, he'd only seen her crying once. Sure, he'd seen her with tears in her eyes, and he'd seen her sad, but only after she'd been kidnapped had she let him hold her while she cried. But that had been different than now.

Eric reached out, and cupped her cheek tenderly. His thumb stroking her skin lightly. "Cal, you're the strongest person I know." Calleigh closed her eyes slowly. "You're allowed to show emotion, and you're allowed to be upset." He said deliberately. He felt her nod, before her head fell into his chest, one of her arms clutching the fabric of his shirt. Her shoulders started to shake slowly, and all the things she'd kept bottled up all day finally released. She cried for the little boy who had been taken away. She cried for the mother who'd lost a child. She cried for her own dad, who'd hurt her a number of times. She cried for Eric, because him holding her like this meant everything to her. She cried because she finally felt like she could. She cried quietly, and Eric just held her, comforting her. He knew this was hard for her. He knew she was upset, yet he was glad that she was okay with opening up to him like this.

After crying quietly for a few minutes, he felt her body still. She pulled back slowly, but still clutched one of her hands in his shirt, holding on to him. She used her other hand to wipe away the remaining tears in her eyes. "Thanks Eric." She murmured quietly. She looked up at him then, his eyes were so open and inviting and loving that her own eyes inexplicably filled with tears yet again. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve this man.

She saw nothing but love for her in his eyes. She could see everything she wanted in his eyes. She saw their past, but now she also saw their future. She could see herself waking up to him every day for the rest of their lives. She wasn't able to tear her own eyes from his. She took his hand, intertwining their fingers together, loving the way their hands fitted so perfectly together. "I love you." She whispered for the first time, holding his gaze steadily, more tears threating to fall. She squeezed his hand.

Eric was sure his heart had stopped beating. He'd loved her for as long as he could remember, but he had decided that he'd wait until she was ready to say it. And now she'd said it first. He let go of her hand, and gently cupped her cheeks with his hands. He brushed his lips carefully over hers, wanting to remember this moment forever. "I love you too, Calleigh." He said as he pressed another kiss to the corner of her lips.

A lump was starting to form in her throat, the moment almost too much for her heart after the long day. "Thank you for being so patient with me." She whispered, her lips brushing his cheek. "And thank you for always being there for me." Calleigh knew he was always there for her, but after a day like today, it meant everything to have Eric there with her. She still wasn't used to having him there, and needed to get used to the fact that she could talk to him. She could open up to him. And she could let her walls down for him. She was slowly admitting to herself that it was okay to talk to Eric about how she felt, whether it was good or bad.

Eric pulled Calleigh into a tight hug. His arms wrapped around her protectively. "I'll always be here Cal." He said into her ear. "You can always talk to me."

Calleigh squeezed her arms tighter against his neck. She didn't feel like she could ever get close enough. She'd felt empty, heavy, sad, broken and the memories from when she was younger had been with her all day because of the case. She knew she wasn't ready to talk about everything yet, but tonight had been a start. After opening up to Eric she felt lighter, better and most of all loved and taken care of, protected.

A little while later they were tucked in to bed. Their legs intertwined, his arms around her protectively, their heads on his pillow facing each other. After their conversation on the couch, he'd suggested they'd go to bed. "You're so beautiful." He said to her as he ran his thumb over her lips. Her eyes were still a little red and swollen from crying, her hair was tousled, her walls were still down. But to Eric she'd never been more beautiful. He was scared that once she'd finished crying, she would push him away. But she'd done the exact opposite. She'd been the one reaching for him when they'd gotten to bed, and she had been the one who wanted to face him when they laid down.

Calleigh's lips twitched into a small smile. "Eric." She murmured quietly. They were so close she could feel his breath on her face. She brushed her lips over his, her arm tightening around him. When he didn't pull back she deepened the kiss, her tongue asking for permission to enter. He gladly invited her in, their tongues and lips slowly meshing. She felt him pour all of his love for her into it, and Calleigh sighed happily.

When she pulled back, she looked at him, her hand moving to his face, her fingers tracing his skin lightly. "I love you." She said again. Eric smiled, and if Calleigh had been standing, that smile would have made her knees weaken. Eric brushed his lips against hers once again.

"I love you too."


End file.
